Leo received both B.S. and M. Eng. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University, where he became a post-doc on stem cells and tissue engineering. He joined the Biomedical Engineering Department at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as an assistant professor in 2011.

Leo is a Pew scholar (Class 2013), and recipient of NIH Director's New Innovator Award, National Science Foundation Early Career Award, American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant, and the March of Dimes Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Award.

Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University 2007;
M.Eng. in Fluid Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) 2001;
B.S. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) 1998;